Guard against exaggeration.
It can become a part of your thinking without your awareness of it.
It is one of the quickest ways of losing touch with reality.
Do I exaggerate situations in which I am in, or in which I have been?
Egoism lurks there.
Do I exaggerate my faults?
Pride lurks there.
Do I exaggerate my problems?
Self-centeredness lurks there.
Do I exaggerate my lack of abilities?
False-humility lurks there.
The essence of the spiritual life is the maintaining of balance.
* * * * * * *
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Be Wary Of Exaggeration And Lies
Nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught. ~Author Unknown
If you add to the truth, you subtract from it. ~The Talmud
There are people so addicted to exaggeration they can't tell the truth without lying.
~Josh Billings
Man is inclined to exaggerate almost everything - except his own mistakes. ~Author Unknown
Exaggeration misleads the credulous and offends the perceptive. ~Eliza Cook
To a small man every greater is an exaggeration. ~Henry David Thoreau
Exaggeration, the inseparable companion of greatness. ~Voltaire
GUARD AGAINST GOSSIP
It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. – James 3:3-6
HOW TO GUARD AGAINST GOSSIP
FIRST UNDERSTAND WHAT GOSSIP IS
- Let me give you the dictionary definition: 1) Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature; 2) A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
- It almost always has to do with talking about someone else behind their back, in a way you wouldn’t if they were present with you.
- And while sometimes what they say is untrue or exaggerated, it might very well be the truth, but told in a way meant to hurt the other person.
- It can even be done by putting the point of emphasis on a particular word, or by raising an eyebrow while telling the story.
- For instance, I might tell you: “Guess what I heard that Jan and Joelle finally came home from Europe?”
- And most of the time it is much worse than that – I might say, “Harry and Sue are having marital problems again. What is wrong with those people”?
- But if I ran into Harry and Sue on the street I might say, “Hey how’s everything going with you guys? Good to see you again.”
- As I’ve mentioned, sometimes people tell out and out lies to hurt others.
- I read a story that a pastor told, he wrote…”Prior to us moving to Kentucky, many years ago, I was to preach a trial sermon at a church and after the sermon the congregation would vote on me to be their new minister.
- Our family was gathered together in the hotel room the night before I was to preach.
- I received a call from one of the elders saying that one of the women in the congregation and called him and said that she thought that he needed to know that I had been married, divorced and remarried.
- I was absolutely shocked! I’m not putting those down who have been through this, but it my case it was absolutely untrue.
- My wife is the only person I had ever even considered marrying and was definitely the only person I’d ever been married to, and I have never, ever been divorced.
- I assured the elder that this was completely false, and he believed me.
- To this day I have no idea who this person was who made the false accusation, but it is obvious that they were trying to keep me from being the preacher there.
- The weird thing was, I had a 100% vote, so I’m assuming she wasn’t there that day.”
- But think about this gossipy woman – she could have very well ruined things for this man’s wife, children, and himself and totally destroyed the many months that they had put into that decision, all the planning involved, and so forth.
-And even more damaging, this woman by telling lies could have stopped the will of God.
-Satan obviously did not want this man to come to this church and damage his kingdom. So he tried to plant lies, to stop God’s will.
-This happens all the time. Be careful what comes out of your mouth. God will hold you accountable. Be careful even when you are repeating something someone else told you. If it’s a lie God will hold you accountable.
-It is no small thing to speak damaging words out of your mouth and ruin what God is trying to do.
- Lets look at the bible story where Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
- Miriam was the great Praise and Worship leader in Exodus chapter 15 when God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. She was the sister of Moses and Aaron and was identified as a prophetess.
-Aaron was the older brother of Moses, a companion, and Israel’s first High Priest.
-Miriam and Aaron were a couple of great, godly people, who were great supports for Moses.
Numbers 12
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, [a] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
-Here is what happened - they didn’t like who Moses was married to. So they began to gossip, slander, and question God’s will and Moses’ God given authority "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
-First question I have is “What does not liking his wife have to do with God speaking to Moses? And what does not liking his wife have to do with God speaking through them?
-They are totally unrelated, except in the mouth of a gossip.
-That is how it works. In the past I have had people give me attitude, complain to me, and gossip about such petty things. But the real problem is that there is something deep in their heart that they don’t like about me, or a decision I have made.
-Miriam and Aaron were really just sick of Moses being the one in charge, and were jealous.
-But that is not what they gossiped and complain about, they gossip about his wife. And they complain about Moses being the spiritual authority.
-The result of their gossiping and complaining stopped the will of God for seven days.
-God’s will was to keep on moving towards the promise land; gossiping and complaining brought this to a halt.
-God is so serious about pride, gossip, and complaining that a person involved was going to die of leprosy and God would not allow his plan to go forth until it was taken care of.
-God has a great plan for this church and the people in this church, I don’t want to be the one who is rotting on the inside of spiritual leprosy and stops God working in this church or someone’s life by being a gossiper and a complainer.
- So those are some examples of what gossip is, and the intention of it is always to harm the other person, whether the person doing the gossiping thinks of it that way or not.
Secondly we need to…
2. RECOGNIZE GOSSIP’S DESTRUCTIVE POWER
- Coming out of church one Sunday, Mrs. Smith asked her husband, "Do you think that Johnson girl is tinting her hair?"
- "I didn't even see her," admitted Mr. Smith.
- "And that dress Mrs. Jones was wearing," continued Mrs. Smith, "Really, don't tell me you think that's the proper outfit for a mother of two."
- "I'm afraid I didn't notice that either," said Mr. Smith.
- "Oh, for heaven's sake," snapped Mrs. Smith. "A lot of good it does you to go to church."
- Have you ever been around someone like that? It’s kind of funny when it is just a joke that we tell, but when it is for real the consequences aren’t so humorous.
- I really don’t think most people take this issue seriously enough.
- This is one of those sins we tend to look past and say it isn’t that big of a deal.
- But the truth is, it is a huge deal and it has destroyed many people.
- Let’s look to the Bible and we’ll consider a few together:
Gossip Destroys Friendships
- A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. – Proverbs 16:28
- You start gossiping about your friends, and you won’t have those friends for long.
- In fact, another passage in Proverbs warns us against even associating with a gossip: - A gossip tells secrets, so don't hang around with someone who talks too much. – Proverbs 20:19
- Gossips destroy their lives, the lives of their friends and the lives of the people they talk about.
- How anyone could expect to go around bad-talking someone else, and remain friends with them is beyond me, but they are out there in droves.
Gossip Destroys Character
- When I gossip to you, I either plant a negative idea in your mind about someone else or I confirm a suspicion you're having.
- Even if you argue with me and tell me I'm wrong about someone, my words will linger in your mind and create some doubt.
- And if I involve 3 or 4 other people in my gossip, before you know it, we've become a majority opinion.
- Our gossip can become the accepted sentiment of someone's character.
- What dainty morsels rumors are—but they sink deep into one's heart. – Proverbs 18:8
- Gossip is a big deal – our words sink deep into someone else's heart.
- Suddenly, a passing thought becomes someone's reality.
Gossip Destroys Trust
- Once I find out that you have gossiped about me, or you find out I’ve gossiped about you, what happens to our relationship? We no longer can trust each other.
- A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. – Proverbs 11:13
- Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
- Whenever I’m around someone who gossips a lot, I begin to think, “I wonder what they’re saying about me?” and I don’t think I’m being paranoid either.
- The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. – James 3:5
- The tongue can heal or the tongue can hurt – With it we can boost or burden.
- The words that we say can either be a load or a lift.
- They can give comfort or consternation.
- The words that we speak are very powerful.
- And we need to remember that once something has come out of our mouths, we can never retrieve it or stop it from doing its damage – it’s too late.
3. PARTICIPATE IN A RIGHTEOUS ALTERNATIVE
- Perhaps I am idealistic, but I actually believe we can choose not to gossip.
- And in fact, since the Bible says that gossip is wrong, I have to believe that God can give us the power to not participate in it.
- Let me give you a few ways to stop gossip in its tracks.
Repent
- If you have been engaged in this behavior, and I imagine most of us have at some level at some time, we need to repent of it.
- Consider what happened to Billy Graham and his reaction to it.
- In March 2002 more tapes from the days of Richard Nixon were released.
- On one tape, Billy Graham was heard telling President Richard Nixon that Jews had a "stranglehold" on the American media, which needed to be broken because it was controlling the country.
- When the tapes were made public, Graham apologized for his remarks.
- He didn’t deny them, but said he couldn’t recall making them.
- Though many people were shocked, no one considers Billy Graham a bigot.
- Most people will forgive Graham because of his spotless record, and because he owned up to what he did and asked forgiveness.
- When we have been caught up in gossip we need to repent, which means we are not only sorry for what we have done, but we are going to stop doing it.
- Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. – Proverbs 26:20
- The first line of defense in changing this behavior is to change yourself.
Think T.H.I.N.K.
- Think T.H.I.N.K. means that you incorporate the following acrostic into your life before you say anything about anyone else.
- We want to make sure that the words that we say about others are words that God would approve of, and that the person we are talking about would approve of also.
- It is not always wrong to talk about others, and sometimes it is good and necessary, but we need to make sure what we say fits into the T.H.I.N.K. principle.
- T – is it true?
- H – is it helpful?
- I – is it inspirational?
- N – is it necessary?
- K – is it kind?
- If what we say fits into these simple criteria then it definitely is not gossip.
- I know that it is difficult to think through all of this every time you say something, but if you start doing it for a while it will begin to flow naturally.
Hold Others Accountable
- Once you’ve gotten your own act together, you need to try to help others.
- I honestly think gossip is one of the most detrimental problems that take place in the church and society as a whole, and we all need to do our part to stop it.
- "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.” – Matthew 18:15
- This text can apply to someone gossiping about you, as well as it does to any other situation.
- Go to that person and ask, “Have you been saying this about me?” If they admit it, tell them that you do not want them to do it anymore, and hopefully they will repent and stop doing it.
- If you hear someone else gossiping about another person, try one of these questions: “Can I quote you on this?” or “Have you talked to [that person] about this?”
- Another way you can deal with it, is instead of joining in with the person, think of an admirable quality of the person being talked about and say, “You know, what I like most about [that person] is. . .”
CONCLUSION
- I’d like to conclude with some very wise words from James that I think are a good reminder for us and then we’ll pray.
- A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything— or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. – James 3:3-6
HOW TO GUARD AGAINST GOSSIP
FIRST UNDERSTAND WHAT GOSSIP IS
- Let me give you the dictionary definition: 1) Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature; 2) A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.
- It almost always has to do with talking about someone else behind their back, in a way you wouldn’t if they were present with you.
- And while sometimes what they say is untrue or exaggerated, it might very well be the truth, but told in a way meant to hurt the other person.
- It can even be done by putting the point of emphasis on a particular word, or by raising an eyebrow while telling the story.
- For instance, I might tell you: “Guess what I heard that Jan and Joelle finally came home from Europe?”
- And most of the time it is much worse than that – I might say, “Harry and Sue are having marital problems again. What is wrong with those people”?
- But if I ran into Harry and Sue on the street I might say, “Hey how’s everything going with you guys? Good to see you again.”
- As I’ve mentioned, sometimes people tell out and out lies to hurt others.
- I read a story that a pastor told, he wrote…”Prior to us moving to Kentucky, many years ago, I was to preach a trial sermon at a church and after the sermon the congregation would vote on me to be their new minister.
- Our family was gathered together in the hotel room the night before I was to preach.
- I received a call from one of the elders saying that one of the women in the congregation and called him and said that she thought that he needed to know that I had been married, divorced and remarried.
- I was absolutely shocked! I’m not putting those down who have been through this, but it my case it was absolutely untrue.
- My wife is the only person I had ever even considered marrying and was definitely the only person I’d ever been married to, and I have never, ever been divorced.
- I assured the elder that this was completely false, and he believed me.
- To this day I have no idea who this person was who made the false accusation, but it is obvious that they were trying to keep me from being the preacher there.
- The weird thing was, I had a 100% vote, so I’m assuming she wasn’t there that day.”
- But think about this gossipy woman – she could have very well ruined things for this man’s wife, children, and himself and totally destroyed the many months that they had put into that decision, all the planning involved, and so forth.
-And even more damaging, this woman by telling lies could have stopped the will of God.
-Satan obviously did not want this man to come to this church and damage his kingdom. So he tried to plant lies, to stop God’s will.
-This happens all the time. Be careful what comes out of your mouth. God will hold you accountable. Be careful even when you are repeating something someone else told you. If it’s a lie God will hold you accountable.
-It is no small thing to speak damaging words out of your mouth and ruin what God is trying to do.
- Lets look at the bible story where Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
- Miriam was the great Praise and Worship leader in Exodus chapter 15 when God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. She was the sister of Moses and Aaron and was identified as a prophetess.
-Aaron was the older brother of Moses, a companion, and Israel’s first High Priest.
-Miriam and Aaron were a couple of great, godly people, who were great supports for Moses.
Numbers 12
1 Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. 2 "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
3 (Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)
4 At once the LORD said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, "Come out to the Tent of Meeting, all three of you." So the three of them came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the Tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When both of them stepped forward, 6 he said, "Listen to my words:
"When a prophet of the LORD is among you,
I reveal myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
7 But this is not true of my servant Moses;
he is faithful in all my house.
8 With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the LORD.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against my servant Moses?"
9 The anger of the LORD burned against them, and he left them.
10 When the cloud lifted from above the Tent, there stood Miriam—leprous, [a] like snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy; 11 and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord, do not hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away."
13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, "O God, please heal her!"
14 The LORD replied to Moses, "If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back." 15 So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.
16 After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.
-Here is what happened - they didn’t like who Moses was married to. So they began to gossip, slander, and question God’s will and Moses’ God given authority "Has the LORD spoken only through Moses?" they asked. "Hasn't he also spoken through us?" And the LORD heard this.
-First question I have is “What does not liking his wife have to do with God speaking to Moses? And what does not liking his wife have to do with God speaking through them?
-They are totally unrelated, except in the mouth of a gossip.
-That is how it works. In the past I have had people give me attitude, complain to me, and gossip about such petty things. But the real problem is that there is something deep in their heart that they don’t like about me, or a decision I have made.
-Miriam and Aaron were really just sick of Moses being the one in charge, and were jealous.
-But that is not what they gossiped and complain about, they gossip about his wife. And they complain about Moses being the spiritual authority.
-The result of their gossiping and complaining stopped the will of God for seven days.
-God’s will was to keep on moving towards the promise land; gossiping and complaining brought this to a halt.
-God is so serious about pride, gossip, and complaining that a person involved was going to die of leprosy and God would not allow his plan to go forth until it was taken care of.
-God has a great plan for this church and the people in this church, I don’t want to be the one who is rotting on the inside of spiritual leprosy and stops God working in this church or someone’s life by being a gossiper and a complainer.
- So those are some examples of what gossip is, and the intention of it is always to harm the other person, whether the person doing the gossiping thinks of it that way or not.
Secondly we need to…
2. RECOGNIZE GOSSIP’S DESTRUCTIVE POWER
- Coming out of church one Sunday, Mrs. Smith asked her husband, "Do you think that Johnson girl is tinting her hair?"
- "I didn't even see her," admitted Mr. Smith.
- "And that dress Mrs. Jones was wearing," continued Mrs. Smith, "Really, don't tell me you think that's the proper outfit for a mother of two."
- "I'm afraid I didn't notice that either," said Mr. Smith.
- "Oh, for heaven's sake," snapped Mrs. Smith. "A lot of good it does you to go to church."
- Have you ever been around someone like that? It’s kind of funny when it is just a joke that we tell, but when it is for real the consequences aren’t so humorous.
- I really don’t think most people take this issue seriously enough.
- This is one of those sins we tend to look past and say it isn’t that big of a deal.
- But the truth is, it is a huge deal and it has destroyed many people.
- Let’s look to the Bible and we’ll consider a few together:
Gossip Destroys Friendships
- A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends. – Proverbs 16:28
- You start gossiping about your friends, and you won’t have those friends for long.
- In fact, another passage in Proverbs warns us against even associating with a gossip: - A gossip tells secrets, so don't hang around with someone who talks too much. – Proverbs 20:19
- Gossips destroy their lives, the lives of their friends and the lives of the people they talk about.
- How anyone could expect to go around bad-talking someone else, and remain friends with them is beyond me, but they are out there in droves.
Gossip Destroys Character
- When I gossip to you, I either plant a negative idea in your mind about someone else or I confirm a suspicion you're having.
- Even if you argue with me and tell me I'm wrong about someone, my words will linger in your mind and create some doubt.
- And if I involve 3 or 4 other people in my gossip, before you know it, we've become a majority opinion.
- Our gossip can become the accepted sentiment of someone's character.
- What dainty morsels rumors are—but they sink deep into one's heart. – Proverbs 18:8
- Gossip is a big deal – our words sink deep into someone else's heart.
- Suddenly, a passing thought becomes someone's reality.
Gossip Destroys Trust
- Once I find out that you have gossiped about me, or you find out I’ve gossiped about you, what happens to our relationship? We no longer can trust each other.
- A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. – Proverbs 11:13
- Perhaps you’ve heard the saying: Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.
- Whenever I’m around someone who gossips a lot, I begin to think, “I wonder what they’re saying about me?” and I don’t think I’m being paranoid either.
- The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. – James 3:5
- The tongue can heal or the tongue can hurt – With it we can boost or burden.
- The words that we say can either be a load or a lift.
- They can give comfort or consternation.
- The words that we speak are very powerful.
- And we need to remember that once something has come out of our mouths, we can never retrieve it or stop it from doing its damage – it’s too late.
3. PARTICIPATE IN A RIGHTEOUS ALTERNATIVE
- Perhaps I am idealistic, but I actually believe we can choose not to gossip.
- And in fact, since the Bible says that gossip is wrong, I have to believe that God can give us the power to not participate in it.
- Let me give you a few ways to stop gossip in its tracks.
Repent
- If you have been engaged in this behavior, and I imagine most of us have at some level at some time, we need to repent of it.
- Consider what happened to Billy Graham and his reaction to it.
- In March 2002 more tapes from the days of Richard Nixon were released.
- On one tape, Billy Graham was heard telling President Richard Nixon that Jews had a "stranglehold" on the American media, which needed to be broken because it was controlling the country.
- When the tapes were made public, Graham apologized for his remarks.
- He didn’t deny them, but said he couldn’t recall making them.
- Though many people were shocked, no one considers Billy Graham a bigot.
- Most people will forgive Graham because of his spotless record, and because he owned up to what he did and asked forgiveness.
- When we have been caught up in gossip we need to repent, which means we are not only sorry for what we have done, but we are going to stop doing it.
- Fire goes out for lack of fuel, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. – Proverbs 26:20
- The first line of defense in changing this behavior is to change yourself.
Think T.H.I.N.K.
- Think T.H.I.N.K. means that you incorporate the following acrostic into your life before you say anything about anyone else.
- We want to make sure that the words that we say about others are words that God would approve of, and that the person we are talking about would approve of also.
- It is not always wrong to talk about others, and sometimes it is good and necessary, but we need to make sure what we say fits into the T.H.I.N.K. principle.
- T – is it true?
- H – is it helpful?
- I – is it inspirational?
- N – is it necessary?
- K – is it kind?
- If what we say fits into these simple criteria then it definitely is not gossip.
- I know that it is difficult to think through all of this every time you say something, but if you start doing it for a while it will begin to flow naturally.
Hold Others Accountable
- Once you’ve gotten your own act together, you need to try to help others.
- I honestly think gossip is one of the most detrimental problems that take place in the church and society as a whole, and we all need to do our part to stop it.
- "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.” – Matthew 18:15
- This text can apply to someone gossiping about you, as well as it does to any other situation.
- Go to that person and ask, “Have you been saying this about me?” If they admit it, tell them that you do not want them to do it anymore, and hopefully they will repent and stop doing it.
- If you hear someone else gossiping about another person, try one of these questions: “Can I quote you on this?” or “Have you talked to [that person] about this?”
- Another way you can deal with it, is instead of joining in with the person, think of an admirable quality of the person being talked about and say, “You know, what I like most about [that person] is. . .”
CONCLUSION
- I’d like to conclude with some very wise words from James that I think are a good reminder for us and then we’ll pray.
- A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything— or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. – James 3:3-6
The Beginning
Here are quotes and poem and the pondering on life. I hope it can make a difference in your life. I know it has in mine. We often say it's just words, but never understimate the impact the written word can have.
After the first blush of sin comes its indifference.
A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.
An unclean person is universally a slothful one.
It is never too late to give up our prejudices.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
